Confused about Compatibility Mode

[NickC]

I've searched VDR and the internet too about Compatibility Mode but am still left with a few questions. Like many people, I have a couple of older devices which still work great but don't have Win 7 64-bit drivers.

1. Will compatibility mode be useful to install these drivers? Some websites say yes, that's what it's for. But mine didn't work, and I've read several other people's experience that it didn't work for them either. Is this just a roll of the dice? i.e., sometimes it will work and sometimes it will not?

2. If I have the drivers on a CD, should I do the compatibility mode by right-clicking on setup.exe directly on the CD? Or should I first copy the files onto the hard drive? Or should I just ignore the CD for the drivers and download 'em from the web?

[SuperSparks]

You cannot use Compatibility Mode to get round a lack of 64-bit drivers, unfortunately. However, if you have Home Premium or above, you can use XP Mode instead, where you are running 32-bit Windows XP as a tightly integrated virtual machine.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/vir.../download.aspx

[NickC]

Too bad - was hoping to extend the life of these devices a bit more. So Compatibility Mode is only for running actual applications that aren't working correctly? Or can it also be used for XP-64bit drivers to be used in Win 7 64-bit? i.e., is Compatibility Mode only to get around XP vs Vista vs 7 and not 32-bit vs 64-bit?

I thought XP Mode was available only with Professional and Ultimate, not Home Premium (which I have).


EDIT: I just went that that link and sure enough Microsoft says it's only for Premium, Enterprise, or Ultimate. Strange they didn't offer it for Home Premium when that seems to be the most widely used version of Win 7.

[SuperSparks]

Sorry, I was mixing up Image Backup and XP Mode You're right, XP Mode is Pro or Ultimate only. Though there are other ways of running XP Mode, you just lose the very tight integration.

Compatibility Mode works nicely for apps that wont work because of the differences between Windows versions. But when it comes to apps not running on 64-bit Windows, that is usually because they have a driver component. And you have to use 64-bit drivers with x64, 32-bit just won't work under any circumstances.

[NickC]

Compatibility Mode works nicely for apps that wont work because of the differences between Windows versions. But when it comes to apps not running on 64-bit Windows, that is usually because they have a driver component. And you have to use 64-bit drivers with x64, 32-bit just won't work under any circumstances.

Yep... finding that out one device after another Thanks for the good explanation though!

[Welshjim]

Now I am confused. I would think you would install 32bit drivers for programs and devices that need them and 64 bit drivers that need them. I did not think Win7 references the version of Windows (i.e., 32bit or 64bit) when downloading/installing drivers, but rather the requirements of the program/app. If you download/install manually, I would think you would have to be sure you are getting the right driver.

[SuperSparks]

Now I am confused. I would think you would install 32bit drivers for programs and devices that need them and 64 bit drivers that need them. I did not think Win7 references the version of Windows (i.e., 32bit or 64bit) when downloading/installing drivers, but rather the requirements of the program/app. If you download/install manually, I would think you would have to be sure you are getting the right driver.

It was the lack of 64-bit drivers which made WinXP 64-bit so unpopular, and which has held back the adoption of 64-bit generally. If 32-bit drivers would work in 64-bit OSs, then there would never have been an issue.

x86-based 64-bit systems sometimes lack equivalents to software that is written for 32-bit architectures. The most severe problem in Microsoft Windows is incompatible device drivers. Most application software can run in a 32-bit compatibility mode, also known as an emulation mode, e.g. Microsoft WoW64 Technology for IA64 and AMD64. The 64-bit Windows Native Mode[15] driver environment runs atop 64-bit NTDLL.DLL which cannot call 32-bit Win32 subsystem code (often devices whose actual hardware function is emulated in user mode software, like Winprinters). Because 64-bit drivers for most devices were not available until early 2007, using 64-bit Microsoft Windows operating system was considered impractical. However, the trend is changing towards 64-bit computing as most manufacturers provide both 32-bit and 64-bit drivers nowadays, so this issue is most likely to occur when attempting to use older peripherals

From here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/64-bit

[Welshjim]

Maybe we are saying the same thing. The issue should not be Compatibility Mode , but rather whether appropriate drivers for the app or peripheral can be obtained. I run lots of 32bit apps on my 64bit PC. So far few problems finding 32 bit drivers when needed.
Adobe Flash is one of the exceptions.
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/000/6b3af6c9.html

[Welshjim]

My post immediately above has an erroneous statement.

Adobe Flash is one of the exceptions.
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/000/6b3af6c9.html

There is a version of Flash for 32 bit Internet Explorer but not for the 64 bit version. Win7 comes with both versions of IE. You have to run the appropriate version to see Flash content.
This has nothing to do with drivers.